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NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1914 • VOL 101 • ISSUE 17 • JAN. 22 - JAN. 28, 2015 LTUhe MBERJACJackCeKntral.org
Go to Jackcentral.org for daily updates, multimedia packages, extra content and stories before the issue hits the stands.
The winter cold did not prevent a 50- to 60-person
attendance from activists who support the movement
of banning plastic bags in Flagstaff stores, decreasing
pollution and promoting the use of reusable bags.
Residents supporting the bag ban wore plastic bags in
various ways as skirts, headbands and wristbands. Th e group
conducted its march Jan. 13 from Heritage Square to Flagstaff
City Hall chanting “Ban the bag we don’t need no trash, ban the
bag to save wildlife and trash…”
A majority of city hall was fi lled with members of the
march, waiting their turn to convey a stance on the issue.
Among the participants in the public conversation for “single-use
plastic bags” were members of NAU’s environmental club,
the Green Jacks, to voice its support in the bag ban or bag fee.
Th e motion proposed a new regulation on plastic bags
which would restrict stores in Flagstaff from distributing bags
for free, issuing a plastic or paper bag fee. Th e intended result
is to reduce city waste and carry other environmental, as well as
city, benefi ts.
Flagstaff records show in 2007 there were over 10 million
plastic bags used in the time period of one year. Th e main
concern is high pollution levels — it was documented that 80
percent of cumulative landfi ll is plastic bags or plastic material,
costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to
regulate it.
Some citizens argue instead of taking seemingly high
measures by banning the bags or placing fees on them in stores,
why not just promote bag recycling as a way to reduce city
pollution?
However, sometimes recycling does not bring enough
results. Plastic bags have proven a hard substance to recycle,
being highly contaminated with limited aft ermarkets other than
trash bags for residents’ small waste baskets.
see PLASTIC BAG page 6
A group of civil rights supporters participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. MARCHING FOR MLK DAY
march Jan. 19 on campus. See the full story on page 4. (Photo by Nick Humphries)
Ban the Bag: Plastic bag fee supporters confront City Hall
BY BAYLEE GARCIA
INSIDE
Life: Magic: the Gathering — pg. 14
Sports: Track — pg. 20
A&E: Nerd Slam — pg. 26

NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1914 • VOL 101 • ISSUE 17 • JAN. 22 - JAN. 28, 2015 LTUhe MBERJACJackCeKntral.org
Go to Jackcentral.org for daily updates, multimedia packages, extra content and stories before the issue hits the stands.
The winter cold did not prevent a 50- to 60-person
attendance from activists who support the movement
of banning plastic bags in Flagstaff stores, decreasing
pollution and promoting the use of reusable bags.
Residents supporting the bag ban wore plastic bags in
various ways as skirts, headbands and wristbands. Th e group
conducted its march Jan. 13 from Heritage Square to Flagstaff
City Hall chanting “Ban the bag we don’t need no trash, ban the
bag to save wildlife and trash…”
A majority of city hall was fi lled with members of the
march, waiting their turn to convey a stance on the issue.
Among the participants in the public conversation for “single-use
plastic bags” were members of NAU’s environmental club,
the Green Jacks, to voice its support in the bag ban or bag fee.
Th e motion proposed a new regulation on plastic bags
which would restrict stores in Flagstaff from distributing bags
for free, issuing a plastic or paper bag fee. Th e intended result
is to reduce city waste and carry other environmental, as well as
city, benefi ts.
Flagstaff records show in 2007 there were over 10 million
plastic bags used in the time period of one year. Th e main
concern is high pollution levels — it was documented that 80
percent of cumulative landfi ll is plastic bags or plastic material,
costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to
regulate it.
Some citizens argue instead of taking seemingly high
measures by banning the bags or placing fees on them in stores,
why not just promote bag recycling as a way to reduce city
pollution?
However, sometimes recycling does not bring enough
results. Plastic bags have proven a hard substance to recycle,
being highly contaminated with limited aft ermarkets other than
trash bags for residents’ small waste baskets.
see PLASTIC BAG page 6
A group of civil rights supporters participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. MARCHING FOR MLK DAY
march Jan. 19 on campus. See the full story on page 4. (Photo by Nick Humphries)
Ban the Bag: Plastic bag fee supporters confront City Hall
BY BAYLEE GARCIA
INSIDE
Life: Magic: the Gathering — pg. 14
Sports: Track — pg. 20
A&E: Nerd Slam — pg. 26